with 🌳︎🍁︎ broadleaves that are evergreen, with each tooth tipped by a ⍋ stiff sharp spine, and … leaf surface=always glossy; ⍋___⍋ teeth=very far apart with spines, margin (edge)=♒︎ undulate[?], evergreen[?]🇬🇧 English holly Ilex aquifolium
mature leaf surface=dull; ⍋___⍋ teeth=very far apart with spines, margin (edge)=NOT ♒︎ undulate[?]; evergreenAmerican holly Ilex opaca
OR it is NOT (plant is 🍃︎ deciduous, with NO stiff sharp spines), but …
with leaf margins (edges) having ▴▴▴▴ teeth so small I can barely see them with the 👀︎ naked eye, and … shrub[?], height=<1 m (<3 ft); leaf shape=oblong (2 × longer than wide); stems=hairless; wet feetalderleaf buckthorn Rhamnus alnifolia shrub, leaf surface=glossy, ▴▴▴▴ teeth=very small but ⍋ sharp, margin (edge)=NOT ♒︎ undulate; 🍃︎ deciduouscommon winterberry/Michigan holly/◼︎ black alder Ilex verticillata
tree[?]; leaf shape=oblong (2 × longer than wide); stems=⫴ hairy, darkglossy buckthorn Frangula alnus tree; leaf shape=⬮ oval (barely longer than wide); twigs=hairless, ⍋ spine-tipped[?]🇪🇺 European or common buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica
OR it is NOT (I can easily see the teeth with my 👀︎ naked eyes), with … margins (edges) = ▲▴▲▴ doubly-toothed
OR it does NOT (leaf margins=▲▲ singly-toothed ), but with … each leaf lateral vein terminates in ▲▲ multiple teeth🍒︎ cherry 🌰︎ chestnut cottonwood elm poplar serviceberry
OR it does NOT (each leaf lateral vein terminates in its own tooth), but with … leaves=short (5–10 cm) (2–4 in), not twice as long as wide, ▴▴▴▴ teeth inconspicuous, 5–9 pairs of veins🇪🇺 European beech Fagus sylvatica
leaves=med. (6–12 cm) (2½–5 in), leaf colors=purple or bronze◼︎ ◼︎ 🇪🇺 copper or purple European beech Fagus sylvatica purpurea
leaves=med. (8–12–18 cm) (3–5–7 in), twice as long as wide, ▲ ▲ teeth far apart (one per lateral vein), very short petiole; bark=light gray, very smooth, often w/carved graffitiAmerican beech Fagus grandifolia
leaves=long (12–20 cm) (5–8 in), curled into canoe-shape, petiole=short🌰︎ American chestnut Castanea dentata leaves=long (12–20 cm) (5–8 in), thick, undersurface=pale, petiole=slenderchinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii
plant terminology
🏠︎ 🌳︎ broadleaves, ╟ alternate, 🍁︎🍂︎ simple
🇬🇧 English holly Ilex aquifolium American holly Ilex opaca common winterberry/Michigan holly/◼︎ black alder Ilex verticillata